Come Undone
by Heachan
Summary: Third and final story to my post Brotherhood series. Even after so many years have past since the Promise Day, Edward still manages to get into trouble and drags anyone close to him along for the ride. And that includes his kids. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Intruder

The house was dark and silent. No lights on or normal racket to be heard. Practically void of life. A flash of lightning nearby lit up the darkness for a few seconds. The wind picked up outside and rain slammed against the windows, as though demanding to be let inside. It drummed across the metal roof, mercilessly. The front door was flung open, swinging on it's hinges wildly before slamming closed on it's own again. But as loud and chaotic as the storm was outside, the house remained quiet. The normal sounds of children playing and laughter, of evenings around the dinner table, all of it was gone. As though it never existed in the first place. The family that lived here must have left in a hurry. Almost nothing was out of place. In the living room, favorite toys were abandoned and left behind to collect dust. In the kitchen, two cups of tea remained on the counter that had turned cold several hours ago.

Although all seemed abandoned, with the roaring of the storm outside and the emptiness inside, it wasn't all as it appeared to be. There was a faint creek of the floor boards in the hallway upstairs. Someone was here. Someone who didn't belong. And he knew he wasn't there alone. Quietly the intruder entered the first bedroom, waiting for another spell of lightning to get a better look at his surroundings. This room, just like the last two rooms,was empty. He moved over to the closet and abruptly opened the doors to find nothing but clothing. There was another sound somewhere in the house and he cautiously slipped inside the closet, out of sight.

oOo

The Lieutenant Colonel pressed his back against the wall, wiping his damp bangs out of his face. The storm outside was not making things any easier. Something about it's timing had been a little too convenient. Silently, he made his way into the hallway, looking around the corner to make sure the cost was clear. Swallowing his uneasiness, he took another step forward before glancing behind him again to make sure no one was sneaking up on him. There was another noise that caught his attention even over the sound of the rain. He brought his gaze back in the direction he was headed, taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves. Bringing his weapon up, he forced himself to hold it steady. Trying to recall everything he had been taught over the last several years when dealing with this kind of situation seemed almost impossible. No amount of training could completely prepare him for this.

Remaining as still as possible, he listened for any sound over the rain outside. After holding his breath for so long, there was a shuffling further down the hall and he slowly moved in that direction. The house remained quiet, making it difficult to know where the trespasser was. He must have found somewhere to hide which was going to make tracking him down even more difficult. Of course even if he managed to find the intruder, he really didn't have a plan after that. Maybe he could hold him until help came. That was assuming help was coming. The more he thought about it, there was a chance that he really was on his own for this. But he could handle it by himself. Right? He'd been in worse situations. Of course back then things were different. Now there was more on the line. Somehow he always realized that about this time when thrown into these situations. He was over thinking things and couldn't afford to do that right now.

The thunder seemed to be right over the house now, making it impossible to hear anything that would be helpful. Just as another flash of lightning lit everything up, there was a sudden movement as the intruder left his hiding place, pointing his weapon out into the hallway. The Lieutenant Colonel had a split second to respond as the gun was aimed in his direction. He dropped down just as a shot rang out even louder then the storm. Despite the pain in his shoulder, he brought his gun up and as soon as he saw movement, he fired as well. The shot didn't stop the assailant as he landed hard on him, knocking the gun away. The Lieutenant Colonel felt the other man's grip on his neck as oxygen started to become scarce. Despite the man's weight, he tried to rolled them to the side, and get his foot up to push him off. The hallway was not big enough for the fight to continue as they got dangerously close to the stairway.

The pressure on his throat lessened as his opponent seemed to be fumbling for something in the dark. Taking in a much needed breath, he realized the other man still had a gun. Without another thought, he knocked the guy off, slamming him into the wall. Glancing around, he searched desperately for his own weapon in the dark. The lightning off in the distance illuminated the hallway just enough for him to see the cold steel at the top of the stairs. As he went for it, there was a sudden force from behind just as he got a hold of the firearm. The fall down the stairs made it impossible to comprehend which direction was up or down. Thankfully it didn't last long, leaving the two disoriented and entangled at the foot of the staircase.

The Lieutenant Colonel didn't remember firing his gun again but when the other man didn't get up or try to attack him, it was cause for concern. The intruder was much larger then him and now felt like dead weight. He could feel warm thick liquid seeping into the front of his uniform and he started to panic. Managing to roll his opponent off, the stench of blood hit his nose and brought on a wave of nausea. He had to get away but wasn't sure what he needed to do next. His mind was reeling and before he could get to far, that smell, that metallic odor seemed to get even stronger. Moving away from the body, he threw up in the nearby corner. Glancing back, the realization that he had ended a life with little effort, hit him hard. Standing up seemed impossible as he felt the invisible weight of his own guilt come crashing down on him. Before he could dwell on his action for too long, there was movement at the top of the stairs. Bringing his gaze upward, he found himself at a complete loss of words. No explanation or excuse formed in his mind as he stumbled over what little coherent speech he could manage.

"...Van?" The small boy continued to stare down at him, all the while clinging to his little sister's hand.

"Daddy? Whatdyou do?"


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, you can all smack me around seriously. I have made you all wait too long for this chapter. I found out about a month ago that my husband and I are expecting our first child which is awesome but has left little time for writing. So I will do my best to get the chapters out as soon as possible. Sorry for the wait and I hope you like the chapter. -Heachan

Chapter Two:Changes

-Several Days earlier-

Major Elric rocked back and forth on his feet, doing his best to not seem anxious. He had been standing out in the hallway for nearly fifteen minutes now and knew that it didn't matter how impatient he got, he would remain there until called on. As much as he tried to stay calm and convince himself that he could afford to wait a little longer, deep down he was complaining about how boring this was and that he had better things to do. But it didn't seem how much he wanted to get this over with, it didn't make the time go by any faster. There were footsteps around the corner that caught his attention. His expression faltered when the Flame Alchemist practically ran into him. Roy made eye contact with the lower ranking officer and quickly grinned at him.

"I was told you would probably still be waiting here by the time I came by," He stated as he headed for the office door.

"Hey wait a second, I've been waiting. Why do you get to just walk in?" The General turned back proudly.

"Because the Furer likes me more." With that said, he left the Major out in the hallway to wait even longer.

oOoOo

"You know you could've invited him in, I wouldn't have minded," Grumman said to Mustang as he closed the door.

"So you do know he's out there. It won't hurt him to learn some patience. Besides, I think he's a little intimidated by you, Sir."

"I'm not intimidating, I can't believe he would think that of me. I thought I had a good report with him." Grumman seemed almost hurt by the notion that he was scary but at the same time he stroked his beard as though he was pondering how he could abuse this misunderstanding. And his General didn't seem against the idea either. After a longer then necessary meeting, the General left the office, immediately noticing the uneasiness of the Major who was still standing outside the door. "And go ahead and send Elric in. I don't want this meeting interfering with my lunch," the Furer added knowing Edward could hear him. Roy turned to Ed shaking his head out of pity. The Major gulped in response as he practically stumbled over his own feet to move in the direction of the office.

"Ah, Edward. Please come in and shut the door. I've some things I want to discuss with you." Roy found himself laughing at the situation, knowing later he would no doubt hear about it from Edward. Still he wished he could be there for the meeting, itself.

oOoOo

General Mustang normally didn't have lunch in the cafeteria but today he found that he managed to find a minute to spare to eat while looking over some reports. This was the only poor excuse for a break he could give himself. While the amount of war and potential threats on the country had died down, the amount of paperwork he was responsible for had not. Just as he started his meal and his eyes landed on the first paragraph another tray of food was slammed down across from him and a very irritated Major glared down at him.

"You know, you don't always have to make yourself known all the time. Not everything needs to be a dramatic entrance."

"And you knew I wasn't in trouble, didn't you?" Finally the General glanced up at the blond.

"I have no way of knowing what the leader of the country would want to talk to you about. I could only assume it wasn't something good because you normally excel at getting into trouble. Or am I thinking of another Elric? I seriously doubt it." Edward narrowed his gaze even more however managed a smile despite the accusation.

"Actually, he called me in to promote me." Roy turned back to his paperwork as though he wasn't interested now.

"Well that's great, Ed. So you've managed to make it to a lieutenant finally. Only took you how many years?" He took a sip of his coffee without breaking his gaze.

"He promoted my to Lieutenant Colonel." Mustang almost choked before staring back at Ed.

"Seriously? No one gets promoted two ranks like that unless they get killed." Edward shrugged back casually like it was no big deal.

"I guess he just likes me. Probably cause of what I did for this country. Of course I was hoping for some kind of ceremony or a parade. Something that fits my personality, yah know."

"I think you're jumping ahead of yourself and I'm sure there's a better reason behind it then that." Finally Ed took a seat across the way, biting into a roll of bread.

"I told you, he just likes me, the same way he just likes you. The mans' allowed to have favorites. Maybe you just don't like the idea of me being one of them." Roy frowned at the comment.

"I know you'll take advantage of that favoritism."

"Come on, I'm not you." Roy raised an eyebrow at his lower ranking officer.

"I'm not that depraved."

As light as their conversation was, they had no idea someone was keeping tabs on the two of them. Constantly watching every move they made and planning their own actions accordingly. When the two finished their banter back and forth and completed their meal, the watchful officer quietly got up and left the cafeteria. The observer went around the corner to find their "Boss".

"So what did you find out?" Her voice came out in a sultry tone that would make any normal man want to hear her speak again.

"The one got promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and the other doesn't seem overly happy about it."

"That doesn't really surprise me. Anything said about their families?"

"Not really. The Lieutenant Colonel mentioned something about heading home today but that was pretty much it. Are you sure this information is really that useful? I mean it's just small talk really."

"I don't ask for useless information or for you to determine what is or isn't important. Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry."

"Keep an eye on the Flame Alchemist and let me know if anything out of the ordinary happens. I want to know everything."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Broken

Everything was falling apart. The last couple of days hadn't made any sense. Ever since he'd gotten home it seemed as though the world had shifted right from under him. He needed to see Winry, needed someone to tell him that this was all just a bad nightmare and that he could just wake up from it all. Now there were several officers in his house, cleaning up the mess and preparing notes for their report on the incident. They had attempted to ask him what had happened but he was only able to tell them so much. Van and Sarah were upstairs with Lieutenant Kinstrel, neither one of them had said much either. Van had asked the Lieutenant where his mom was and he wasn't really sure how to answer that question.

He thought about checking on the Lieutenant Colonel but he had been asked to watch over the kids and right now it probably wasn't a good idea to leave them alone. There was a sudden commotion downstairs and Andrew leaned out into the hallway to see what was going on. Once he saw who had just entered the house, he couldn't help but grin to himself. He wasn't sure if this person would actually make the situation any better, but at the least...well he stopped hoping for the best a long time ago.

The men all halted in their actions and stood at attention as the General walked through the front door. He really didn't have time for the respect as he moved swiftly past all of them, taking off his drenched coat and tossing it on the back of the sofa. He made a bee line towards the back of the house, carrying a heavy object with him. On the way, he stopped in the kitchen to grab a couple of glasses. Ed was on the back porch, letting the rain soak him.

"Hey." He didn't even have to turn to know who it was. After not receiving an answer, the Flame alchemist let out a heavy sigh. He knew the day would come when Ed would have to say goodbye to his moral stance on not killing in order to save his own life. Or someone he cared about. Just from the scene inside, he could tell that it must have come down to that. It was the only scenario that he would ever cave on that principle. For any other soldier, this was usually something to celebrate. For the dogs of the military, killing was just part of the job. A right of passage. One that he knew even Ed couldn't avoid. And he knew it would be devastating in the end. Normally he just had to irritate the younger man to get him to snap out of it, but that was not going to work this time. Not really sure what to say he decided he would pick sitting on the wet concrete then stand in the doorway in silence any longer.

Ed still didn't acknowledge the General's presence. He continued to stare at the ground or his hands or whatever he was looking at. "Here," Roy said, placing the bottle next to him. "I figured you could use this." The blond's gaze shifted and he almost seemed confused.

"What the hells' that for?"

"Well it's certainly not a gift. But I figured an eighteen year old bottle of scotch should do the trick." Ed honestly didn't know what he was talking about. "There's a reason, trust me."

"So that's it then? You end a life and bury the regret with alcohol?"

"Ed, nothing is going to change what happened. You did what you had to do."

"No, I didn't!" He shook his head at the thought. "There, there had to be another way." His volume dropped off as if he knew otherwise.

"Was there, really? What if you had lost?" There was no answer to that and Roy decided this was the point he was going to open the scotch. "The fact of the matter is, he wouldn't have given you a second thought if he killed you." He paused to let that sink in for a minute. "And if that had been the case, what would have happened to Van and Sarah?" The question just seemed to make him more upset.

"I...I just couldn't let anything...I didn't know what else to do..." He brought his hands up to cover his face.

"It's not so easy for the rest of us either. You just tend to get numb from it." With that said, he offered a glass of copper liquid to the Lieutenant Colonel. Without another thought about it, Ed drank the whole thing in several gulps. He immediately started to cough at the burning feeling in his throat. "Well it's just a waste if you drink it like that." Roy took a sip of his own drink." Despite the coughing spell, the drink seemed to calm Ed's nerves at least a little.

"I want all these people out of my house. Aren't they finished yet?" Mustang glanced back to confirm they were still working.

"Are you staying here tonight?" The thought sent a shiver through Edward's body.

"I don't want to." Roy sighed before rising to his feet.

"You're gonna catch a cold staying out here. Why don't you get the kids and I don't know, maybe we can bring them to your teacher's. She lives nearby, right?" Ed looked up with a grimace. The thought of bringing his children to Izumi's was a scary thought. He could just imagine waking up the next morning to the news that his kids were "training" on a deserted island somewhere or lost in the woods.

"Am I even allowed to leave?"

"At some point they will want to speak with you again about the incident. Have you talk with a therapist probably. It's normal protocol." Ed stood as well, pushing the wet hair out of his face.

"I don't want to talk to anyone about this. Especially someone I don't know." Mustang decided to let it drop and not push the issue right now. The two of them walked back inside.

If the sole reason for the Elric house being invaded that evening was to clean it, they were far from their goal. It was even more a disaster then when they had started and seem to make Edward's headache worse. He just wanted to go to bed at this point. Before he had to say anything though, Roy stepped in and asked the soldiers to wrap up their investigation for the evening. Wearily, Ed decided to go upstairs to see his children. He was sure they were confused by everything that had happened. Sarah probably didn't have a clue other then that things were hectic.

Slowly, he made it up the stairs and could hear the kids quietly playing. Van particularly was speaking in a tone slightly above a whisper as though he felt he needed to be quiet. Pushing the door open some, he noticed that the Lieutenant was sitting on the floor, watching as the two children played with blocks. It was a game that Edward knew all too well. Van would place the blocks on top of each other as high as he could get them and then Sarah, without fail would knock the tower down. Tonight's events had even dampened their games though as Van kept his distance from his little sister in order to protect his masterpiece. Of course gravity would do the infant's job for her as the towers eventually got too tall and would fall over. Every time it happened, Van would start muttering something under his breath that was difficult to understand.

He wanted to talk to them. Have some deep meaningful conversation about what happened and why it was necessary. But he wasn't even completely sure how to explain this to them. Glancing down at himself, he decided it was best not to say anything and moved out of the doorway back into the hall. He hadn't even noticed he was still wearing his uniform that was covered in blood. Certainly didn't make him look very innocent. He was sure there was something else he was going to be needed for, some last minute question or another statement but he just concluded he was more concerned with getting cleaned up. Right now he could only process one thing at a time.

Turning on the hot water in the shower, he started to remove the stained clothing. For whatever reason his fingers didn't want to cooperate and he found his hands shaking. The rain was suppose to wash all this away and it hadn't. He tossed everything in the nearby trash can and hurried to stand under the warm water. Being here alone in the bathroom was probably not the best place for him to be. Being alone meant his thoughts wondered and he started blaming himself for what happened. Mustang's words faded from him mind and all that was left was guilt. And to add to that, he didn't even know how to talk to his kids about it. Was this how his dad felt for so many years? He hated the thought but knew there was some truth to it.

There was so much he wanted to say but didn't know how. In reality the only thing he could think of saying was he was sorry it ever happened. He wished he could have shielded them from this. Mustang was definitely right about one thing. Nothing was going to change what happened.

With that thought, he let himself break down, covered his head with his hands and sobbed quietly as the water ran down his back.


End file.
